008 [Action/Voice]

[fabrecation]

[Luke had been trying to get back to House 5, but it's awfully hard to do so with a sudden crowd of people. There's a whole slew of sounds coming from the journal as if Luke's right in the middle of the crowd, along with Luke himself switching between trying to be polite and being outright indignant about being pushed through a sea of people. One can hear him saying "Excuse me" and "Sorry", along with "HEY" and "WATCH IT, YOU JERK".

Eventually, though, the noises fade as Luke escapes and slides down the wall of a house that he decided to take refuge behind. With a loud sigh, Luke straightens his jacket and speaks to the journal, ignoring the light pain in his abdomen from his still healing wound.]

What a pain...

Guy, Asch, Natalia, I don't think I can make it back to the house. I'll just camp out or something, okay?

[Maybe he can find some marshmallows and make some awesome smores or something. Away from the sudden crowd.]

Comments

[fabrecation]

Just the edge of it. [The urge to banter just a little is way too strong to resist, so he place his hands on his hips and looks back at Asch with a half smile.] Besides, I thought you were sick of standing around!

[engel]

[ Dammit, who taught the replica to toss his own words back at him? Asch mutters a few colorful choice words under his breath as he skims the accursed people a final time and double checks his sword. Yep, still there. For his brazen comment, Luke gets a light jab between the shoulder blades. ]

Lead on, smart ass.

[fabrecation]

[At least it's light, so Luke can't help but laugh quietly to himself before obeys and leads on. He... does not have his sword, as he didn't expect a crowd of people to suddenly appear, but hopefully they can make it back without running into any villains or anything.

There are some cute bunnies who try to follow them, though. And if you listen close, they might be trying to chatter to you. In English.]

[engel]

[ One extra poke for laughing, dreck. Hand rested on his sword hilt as they walk, Asch almost jumps from the occasional branch snapping underfoot. So suddenly hearing voices behind them has Asch whirling around to threaten-- a bunch of bunnies?

He's just.. going to stop and stare at the rabbits with all the expression of a tomato because, seriously, what the hell. The only talking animal he knows of is Luke's pet cheagle, who can get away with it due to being a sacred beast. Soup meat isn't supposed to make intelligible noises in his book.

Realizing he must look like a damn fool, Asch stands down without sheathing his sword. No way is he going to mention this strange development, though. The replica isn't allowed to know if he's finally gone off the deep end when he doesn't even have a weapon. ]

[fabrecation]

[Yeah, Luke's gonna be staring at him with slightly wider eyes at that little display. Because come on, he's already used to the little woodland critters who talk, and Asch has been here for like two years; he should be more than used to it.]

... Asch, are you okay?

[engel]

[ There was always the option of blaming his nerves on the mass of people, but that would mean admitting Luke was handling the ridiculous situation better than he was. He couldn't tolerate even the idea. Asch's eyes dart between Luke and the bunnies, finally settling on giving the suspicious creatures a final dirty look before he shoves his way past Luke to take the lead without a single word. The sooner they got out of this screwy place, the better. ]

[fabrecation]

[-But Asch do you know where you're going?

Because Luke certainly thinks he does. And he's making some excuse in his head, like... Maybe the bunnies insulted Asch's mother. Or something.

So, he'll just be following behind him, though he keeps his distance just in case he's still peeved.]

[engel]

[ ... No, but what else is new when it comes to Fabres?

Don't be too surprised when he starts going the wrong way, Luke, since Asch isn't paying much attention to where they're headed or the direction of the village. In fact, he doesn't even notice the abrupt sloping of their path until his foot hits the edge of it and slides right off. ]

SON OF A--!

[ His wings flap hard enough to send feathers everywhere in a vain attempt to keep him aloft before the original goes ass over teacup down the hill and disappears into the snowbank at the bottom. ]

[fabrecation]

[Actually, Luke is just about to ask where Asch is going when he notices Asch falling right over.]

Asch-!

[He'll reach out to try and drag him back - avoiding the wings, of course - but he's not really prepared for Asch's weight, so all that serves to do is just pull Luke right down with him. STUPID FABRE GENES.

So down they both go, and Luke lands face first in the snowbank beside Asch.]

[engel]

[ Luke's failed attempt at assisting only gets a shove before gravity kicks in and for once Asch manages not to land on his backside, but only because his head beat the rest of him to the ground first by being heavier. Stupid dreck! This is all his fault somehow! ]

...mmph.

[ He finally rights himself after a bit of creative wiggling and the use of Luke's head for a handhold, which lets him find a better place to haul Luke up by: namely his belt. A quick check that the replica isn't broken means Asch can get down to business. ]

ARE YOU STUPID?!

[fabrecation]

Owww...

[Oh, that did wonders to his stomach. He lets out a louder, more irritated groan once Asch pushes his head down in the snow even more, and then the next moment, he's hanging by his belt and giving Asch a LOOK. At least he's used to things like this by now.]

What did I do?!

[engel]

[ The volume at which Asch is yelling isn't going to do much for Luke's eardrums either, nor is all the jostling as he tries to drag them both out of the heaping pile of snow. ]

Could've gotten yourself killed, that's what! What were thinking by grabbing onto me?!

[fabrecation]

[s-sob, he's so abused. He's also trying to get himself out of Asch's grip, because it's embarrassing to be helped like this.]

You're the one who fell in the first place! How was I supposed to know you'd drag me down?!

[engel]

Use that thick head of yours for once! If I was falling, why wouldn't you end up doing the same?!

[ Luke just has a natural talent for catching Asch on his bad days. He's really not this bad most of the time? With Luke squirming around it's difficult to find solid footing, so Asch lets the twerp go in exchange for the extra hand needed to remain upright. At a couple trees he pauses for a break and shakes the snow from his soaked wings. ]

Any idea where we're at now?

[fabrecation]

[WHUMPF. Right back in the snow. Luke shakes his head to get the snow out of his face, and his wings shake automatically as well. He scrambles up to catch back up with Asch, though he has to narrow his eyes a bit with suspicion at that question. Honestly, Asch, stop having selective memory loss!]

... The house shouldn't be too far. Here, I'll lead.

[He'll just walk right on ahead.]

[engel]

[ Hah! Serves him right for being both stupid and a pain in his ass. After taking a tumble, Asch isn't in the mood to even try keeping up his charade for Luke's sake. Let the dreck get a headache and think he's gone crazy too. ]

Be my guest. You could've said something sooner.

[ He couldn't wait for a rabid bunny or something to attack Luke's face. ]

[fabrecation]

[Luke just mumbles something to himself before he continues on with his fists clenched at his sides. He still hasn't really figured it out, and deep down, he's very worried about Asch's supposed memory loss. The sooner they get back, the sooner he can figure out what's going on.

Thankfully, it doesn't take too long to reach House 5, a relatively big house compared to some of the others. As it should be, as it's suited to fit at least five people. Luke lets himself in first, though he leaves the door open for Asch.]

[engel]

[ Asch can't help silently marveling at the residence Luke leads them to. There's no way he had procured this place on his own. ...right? It was hard -almost insulting- to imagine the replica holding down a common job. He hesitated a moment in the doorway before edging further inside and closing the door on the freezing cold, giving his wings a last shake to rid them of snow. ]

You had better bring several towels so the floor won't end up wet.

[fabrecation]

[He makes a living by makings wigs Luke just gives an "Yeah yeah" and hurries down the hall and to the restroom, where he'll dry himself off lightly first, then bring a fresh one to the living room, where he'll hand the second to Asch. He then ties the towel into his hair - because it's totally awesome like that.

He gives Asch a good stare while he does so.]

Hey, uh... Asch? Are you really feeling okay?

[engel]

[ ...what's he do, grow the hair himself? In the meantime Asch busies himself with removing most of his soaked outerwear, leaving only his manskirt tunic, sword belt, and pants. They're still wet, but not so much as the rest. He all but snatches the towel from Luke to pat his hair down with meticulous care, simply wrapping it the warm fabric around his shoulders after. He's not cold, dammit. ]

Aside from the obvious, yes, I feel fine. Keep running your mouth and I might develop a headache though.

[fabrecation]

[Couldn't let all that long hair go to waste! Luke purses his lips and looks away at that, though remains quiet. Instead, he glances at the towel on Asch's shoulders, then moves over to the couch to grab a couple of blankets; one for himself and...

... How to give it to Asch without embarrassing him?

After a pause of thought, he just shakes his head to himself and heads over to give it to Asch.]

... Here. It was cold out there, so...

[engel]

[ And here we thought his girlfriend gave it a proper burial. Asch gives the blanket serious consideration and takes it with a quiet scoff, his face flushed from more than just the temperature. Even he got tired of their arguing eventually. There's an uneasy silence before Asch wanders past the replica to look around. ]

...thanks.

[fabrecation]

Yeah.

[Why is it always AWKWARD when they do something nice for each other? Luke pulls the blanket over his shoulders and wraps it around his arms before he looks back to see where Asch is going, then wanders to the kitchen himself. He could use some hot chocolate, and he assumes that Asch knows where he's going and that he has other things to do. He'd probably be bothered if he followed him around everywhere, anyway.]

[engel]

[ When bickering and mild physical abuse is the standard means of communication, behaving like normal people just feels weird. Asch has other issues complicating matters but he hopes being abrasive will keep Luke from getting suspicious. He stumbles across the bathroom first and hangs his towel up to dry, then proceeds to scope out the remaining rooms out of curiosity -did Luke have to alter furniture or clothes to accommodate his wings as well? They appeared to be smaller than his own, but...

Yeah, you'll find him poking around your belongings, Luke. ]

[fabrecation]

[Guy, Natalia and his Asch live here, too, so you might find belongings of theirs, too. There are holes in the back of his clothes, or shirts with a cloth attached to the end meant to cover the wings. That's about the only thing Luke has, though; Usually his wings can fold against his back enough to let him sit or lean against his back comfortably. Other belongings he has are a couple of other journals besides the one he uses for communication, ones filled with what he's done during his days in Luceti. The latest entries include notes about the war, if Asch happens to get nosy and flip through it. There are also a few swords leaning against one of the corners, a little music box by his bedside, and various other little belongings. He hasn't really stayed here long enough to gather a huge collection or anything.

Luke has two mugs of cocoa ready, just in case Asch wants one, and heads to his room. Soon enough, he's standing in the doorway with his head tilted.]

Asch? [He can count the number of times Asch has been in his room with one hand.]